EX-99.1
2
dmc-pr20240327sustainable.htm
PRESS RELEASE DATED MARCH 27, 2024
dmc-pr20240327sustainable
Exhibit 99.1
Denison Mines
Corp.
1100 – 40
University Ave
Toronto, ON M5J
1T1
www.denisonmines.com
@DenisonMinesCo
PRESS
RELEASE
Denison
Announces Signing of
Sustainable Communities
Investment Agreement
Toronto, ON – March 27, 2024.
Denison Mines Corp.
(“Denison”) (TSX: DML; NYSE American: DNN) is proud to
announce the signing of a Sustainable Communities Investment
Agreement (the “Agreement”) with the municipalities of
the Northern Village of Beauval, the Northern Village of
Île-à-la Crosse, the Northern Hamlet of Jans Bay, and the
Northern Hamlet of Cole Bay (the
“Communities”).
The
Agreement acknowledges that the municipalities are located in
northern Saskatchewan and have a desire to work together to develop
a regional approach that enables social, economic and cultural
revitalization. Denison is focused on developing its flagship
Wheeler River project (the “Project”) in a sustainable
manner that (i) supports Community-led objectives and initiatives
and (ii) empowers the Communities to develop their capacity to take
advantage of development opportunities and create a positive legacy
beyond the lifespan of the Project.
Mayor of Beauval, Nick Daigneault, stated,
“The
Communities are very excited to enter into the Agreement with
Denison, who fully understands our need to sustain our
municipalities in Northern Saskatchewan for many years to come.
Each of our communities have limited pools of money to tap into and
there is only so much tax revenue our communities can garner to
tackle both the communities’ aging infrastructure as well as
important community needs. By partnering with industry, our
communities will be able to develop an additional fund that will
grow over time and provide us with much needed financial support to
see community projects become a reality. Denison has stepped-up to
support our communities and I’m hopeful that the Agreement
will lead the way as a shining example of how industry can work
with our Northern Saskatchewan municipalities. We are grateful for
the discussions we have had with Denison’s leadership team
and the fact that they share, and are excited about, our vision for
prosperous and sustainable communities.”
David Cates, President & CEO of Denison,
further added, “This
Agreement builds upon a foundation of trust and respect established
between Denison and the municipalities of Beauval and
Île-à-la Crosse with the signing of a Memorandum of
Understanding in 2018 and 2017, respectively. As Wheeler River has
progressed over the last several years, we have listened to,
understood, and responded to the interests of the Communities. This
Agreement uniquely reflects the Communities’ own vision for
industry to support a positive legacy of sustainable northern
communities. We thank the Communities’ leaders and
constituents for their support and trust in Denison, and we look
forward to a long and mutually beneficial
relationship.”
The
Agreement with the Communities establishes commitments for funding
to support community development initiatives, with consideration
towards contributing to the current and future economic prosperity
and sustainability of the Communities by promoting economic
development and investments in capital projects, job creation and
training, housing, education, and other initiatives. The parties to
the Agreement also acknowledge a common goal of facilitating
qualified businesses and workers in benefitting from opportunities
associated with the Project.
In
consideration for contributions to the Communities’
initiatives, the Communities have provided their consent and
support for the Project and have committed, amongst other things,
to support all regulatory approvals issued for the Project related
to exploration, evaluation, development, operation, reclamation,
and closure activities.
About the Municipalities of Beauval, Île-à-la Crosse,
Cole Bay, Jans Bay
The Municipality of Beauval - “Beautiful Valley” - is
located in Northern Saskatchewan overlooking the lovely Beaver
River Valley providing a striking view of the river and surrounding
nature. The Beaver River offers world-class pickerel fishing, and
nearby lakes stocked with abundant Trout and Northern Pike makes
Beauval an ideal destination for anglers. The community has a proud
history of culture, language, and heritage. In history, Beauval was
a trading post location along the Churchill River trade route for
the Hudson’s Bay Company, this route is still travelled via
canoe by history buffs and avid outdoors people for the pristine
scenes and memorable nature experience with historic
influence.
The Northern Village of Île-à-la Crosse is located in
north-central Saskatchewan at the base of a peninsula extending
into Lac Île-à-la Crosse. The village is the second
oldest community in northern Saskatchewan, established in 1776. In
1846, Roman Catholic Missionaries arrived and constructed the
Chateau St. Jean Mission and a neighbouring school. The Sisters of
Charity of the Roman Catholic Church was initiated soon after and
still plays a prominent role within the community. This community
is the birthplace of Louis Riel Sr. and was home to Sister Margaret
Riel, sister of Louis Riel. The Village has a population of 1,425
(2021 Census) and prominent Aboriginal architect Douglas Cardinal
designed Rossignol Elementary School.
The Northern Hamlet of Jans Bay is located in northwest
Saskatchewan along the southeast shore of Canoe Lake. Situated west
of Beauval on Hwy 965, the community is within close proximity to
its sister communities of Cole Bay and Canoe Narrows. This friendly
community is surrounded by forest, lakes, and
wildlife.
The Northern Hamlet of Cole Bay is located 60 km west of Beauval on
the southwest shore of Canoe Lake at the junction of Highway 903
and 965, and is within close proximity to Jans Bay and Canoe
Narrows.
About Wheeler River
Wheeler River is the largest undeveloped uranium project in the
infrastructure-rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region,
in northern Saskatchewan. The project is host to the high-grade
Phoenix and Gryphon uranium deposits, discovered by Denison in 2008
and 2014, respectively, and is a joint venture between Denison (90%
and operator) and JCU (Canada) Exploration Company Limited
(“JCU”, 10%). In August 2023, Denison filed a technical
report summarizing the results of (i)
the feasibility study completed for In-Situ Recovery
(“ISR”) mining of the high-grade Phoenix uranium
deposit and (ii) a cost update to the 2018 Pre-Feasibility Study
for conventional underground mining of the basement-hosted Gryphon
uranium deposit. Based on the respective studies, both
deposits have the potential to be competitive with the lowest cost
uranium mining operations in the world. Permitting efforts for the
planned Phoenix ISR operation commenced in 2019 and have advanced
significantly, with licensing in progress and a draft Environmental
Impact Statement submitted for regulatory and public review in
October 2022. More information is available in the technical report titled “NI 43-101
Technical Report on the Wheeler River Project Athabasca Basin,
Saskatchewan, Canada” dated August 8, 2023 with an
effective date of June 23, 2023, a copy of which is available on
Denison’s website and under its profile on SEDAR+ at
www.sedarplus.ca and on EDGAR at
www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
About Denison
Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with
interests focused in the Athabasca Basin region of northern
Saskatchewan, Canada. In addition to Denison’s effective 95%
interest in its flagship Wheeler River Uranium Project,
Denison’s interests in Saskatchewan include a 22.5% ownership
interest in the McClean Lake Joint Venture, which comprises several
uranium deposits and the McClean Lake uranium mill that is
contracted to process the ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll
milling agreement, plus a 25.17% interest in the Midwest Main and
Midwest A deposits and a 69.35% interest in the Tthe Heldeth
Túé (“THT”) and Huskie deposits on the
Waterbury Lake property. The Midwest Main, Midwest A, THT and
Huskie deposits are located within 20 kilometres of the McClean
Lake mill.
Through its 50% ownership of JCU, Denison holds additional
interests in various uranium project joint ventures in Canada,
including the Millennium project (JCU, 30.099%), the Kiggavik
project (JCU, 33.8118%) and Christie Lake (JCU,
34.4508%).
Denison’s exploration portfolio includes further interests in
properties covering ~385,000 hectares in the Athabasca Basin
region.
Certain information contained in this press release constitutes
“forward-looking information”, within the meaning of
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
and similar Canadian legislation concerning the business,
operations and financial performance and condition of Denison.
Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by
the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”,
“expects”, “budget”,
“scheduled”, “estimates”,
“forecasts”, “intends”,
“anticipates”, or “believes”, or the
negatives and / or variations of such words and phrases, or state
that certain actions, events or results “may”,
“could”, “would”, “might” or
“will be taken”, “occur”, “be
achieved” or “has the potential to”.
In particular, this press release contains forward-looking
information pertaining to Denison’s current intentions and
objectives with respect to, and commitments set forth in, the
Agreement; the results of, and estimates, assumptions and
projections provided in, the technical report for Wheeler River and
the interpretations and expectations with respect thereto;
development and expansion plans and objectives for the Project; and
expectations regarding its joint venture ownership interests and
the continuity of its agreements with its partners and third
parties.
Forward looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates
of management as of the date such statements are made, and they are
subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance
or achievements of Denison to be materially different from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For
example, Denison may decide or otherwise be required to discontinue
work at the Project if it is unable to maintain or otherwise secure
the necessary resources (such as capital funding, regulatory
approvals, etc.) and this could impact Denison’s ability to
meet the objectives stated in this press release, or the objectives
of Denison and any one of the Communities could become misaligned.
Denison believes that the expectations reflected in this
forward-looking information are reasonable but there can be no
assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and may
differ materially from those anticipated in this forward looking
information. For a discussion in respect of risks and other factors
that could influence forward-looking events, please refer to the
“Risk Factors” in Denison’s Management’s
Discussion & Analysis dated February 29, 2024 available under
its profile at www.sedarplus.ca and under Form 6-K available at
www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. These factors are not, and should not be
construed as, being exhaustive.
Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information
contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this
cautionary statement. Any forward-looking information and the
assumptions made with respect thereto speaks only as of the date of
this press release. Denison does not undertake any obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the
date of this press release to conform such information to actual
results or to changes in its expectations except as otherwise
required by applicable legislation.